LifeSource, Department of Public Safety support public education campaign
St. Paul, MN — LifeSource, the non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation in the Upper Midwest, and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS), have unveiled a new campaign to support public education about donation.
Minnesotans applying for or renewing their driver’s licenses or state ID cards have long had the opportunity to check a box to designate themselves organ, tissue and eye donors.
Now, the “You and $2” program allows Minnesotans to use the same form to contribute $2 to education about organ, tissue and eye donation. Money raised will be used to fund programs that educate the public on the need for life-saving organ donations, with the goal of increasing the number of registered donors in the state. Modeled after similar programs in other states, “You and $2” was made possible by passage of a bipartisan bill during the 2011 legislative session.
The percentage of persons who are registered donors in Minnesota continues to rise, yet growth has significantly slowed – a critical concern, as the need for organ donors is rising and expected to increase.
More than 2.4 million Minnesotans are registered organ and tissue donors, equaling about 60 percent of adults in the state. Although Minnesota ranks higher than the national average (42 percent of adults registered as donors) states with programs similar to “You and $2” boast much higher rates of registered donors, including Washington at 74 percent.
Statewide, more than 2,700 people are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. In 2010, 167 people died while on the transplant list because an organ was not available — nearly one person every other day. “Our hope is that providing this opportunity to fund critical education will increase our community’s support for donation and save more lives,” said Susan Gunderson, Chief Executive Officer at LifeSource. “Our vision is that everyone shares the gift of life, and that no one should die because of a shortage of organs available for transplant.”
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mona Dohman supports the joint efforts of DPS and LifeSource to help Minnesotans register as donors and verify the decisions of Minnesotans who choose to save lives through organ and tissue donation. “We are proud to strengthen our partnership with LifeSource through the ‘You and $2’ campaign to help Minnesotans save lives,” Dohman said.
Minnesotans can find information about donation and register online to be a donor by visiting www.DonateLifeMN.org. Information about the “You and $2” program is available on the LifeSource website at www.Life-Source.org.
